If going with Hampton, also get one or both of the Hilton branded no fee credit cards -- AMEX or Visa.

AMEX I think now has a 20,000 point promotion with their Hilton card.


Of course, you could always use Priceline for a number of your stays and you likely will pay much less than a chain property and if you use the EBAY portal, you can earn EBAY points that can be converted into a number of frequent flyer programs, etc., if you join points.com


Good luck!